18 CFR 388.106 - Requests for Commission records available in the Public Reference Room and from the Commission's web site, http://www.ferc.gov.

§ 388.106 Requests for Commission records available in the Public Reference Room and from the Commission's web site, http://www.ferc.gov.

(a)

(1) A Public Reference Room is maintained at the Commission's headquarters and is open during regular business hours as provided in § 375.101(c) of this chapter. Publicly available documents may be obtained in person or in writing from the Public Reference Room by reasonably describing the records sought. Additional information on charges and services is available on the Web site and in the Public Reference Room.

(2) Documents created by or received by FERC on or after November 1981 also are available on the Commission's Web site through its document management system. These may also be accessed in person using a personal computer in the Public Reference Room.

(b) The public records of the Commission that are available for inspection and copying upon request in the Public Reference Room, or are otherwise available under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, include:

(2) Financial, statistical, and other reports to the Commission, power system statements of claimed cost of licensed projects, original cost and reclassification studies, proposed accounting entries, certificates of notification (under section 204(e) of the Federal Power Act), rates or rate schedules and related data and concurrences, and other filings and submittals to the Commission in compliance with the requirements of any statute, executive order, or Commission rule, regulation, order, license, or permit;

(4) Exhibits, attachments and appendices to, amendments and corrections of, supplements to, or transmittals or withdrawals of any of the foregoing;

(5) All parts of the formal record in any matter or proceeding set for formal or statutory hearing, and any Commission correspondence related thereto;

(6) Presiding officer actions, correspondence, and memoranda to or from others, with the exception of internal communications within the Office of Administrative Law Judges:

(7)Commission orders, notices, findings, opinions, determinations, and other actions in a matter or proceeding;

(8)Commission correspondence relating to any furnishing of data or information, except to or by another branch, department, or agency of the Government;

(9)Commission correspondence with respect to the furnishing of data, information, comments, or recommendations to or by another branch, department, or agency of the Government where furnished to satisfy a specific requirement of a statute or where made public by that branch, department or agency;

(10) Staff reports on statements of claimed cost by licensees when such reports have been served on the licensee;

(11)Commission correspondence on interpretation of the Uniform System of Accounts and letters on such interpretation signed by the Chief Accountant and sent to persons outside the Commission;

(12)Commission correspondence on the interpretation or applicability of any statute, rule, regulation, order, license, or permit issued or administered by the Commission, and letters of opinion on that subject signed by the General Counsel and sent to persons outside the Commission;

(13) Copies of the filings, certifications, pleadings, records, briefs, orders, judgments, decrees, and mandates in court proceedings to which the Commission is a party and the correspondence with the courts or clerks of court;

(24) Records that have been requested three or more times and determined eligible for public disclosure will be made publicly available on the Commission's Web site or through other electronic means.

(c) For purposes of this section,

(1)Commission correspondence includes written communications and enclosures, in hard copy or electronic format, received from others outside the staff and intended for the Commission or sent to others outside the staff and signed by the Chairman, a Commissioner, the Secretary, the Executive Director, or other authorized official, except those which are personal.

(2)Formal record includes:

(i) Filings and submittals in a matter or proceeding,

(ii) Any notice or Commission order initiating the matter or proceeding, and

(iii) If a hearing is held, the designation of the presiding officer, transcript of hearing, exhibits received in evidence, exhibits offered but not received in evidence, offers of proof, motions, stipulations, subpoenas, proofs or service, references to the Commission, and determinations made by the Commission thereon, certifications to the Commission, and anything else upon which action of the presiding officer or the Commission may be based.

The formal record does not include proposed testimony or exhibits not offered or received in evidence.

(3)Matter or proceeding means the Commission's elucidation of the relevant facts and applicable law, consideration thereof, and action thereupon with respect to a particular subject within the Commission's jurisdiction, initiated by a filing or submittal or a Commission notice or order.

Effective January 5, 2017, and is applicable beginning December 21, 2016.

18 CFR Parts 375 and 388

Summary

This document contains corrections to the final rule (RM16-15-000, RM15-25-001) which published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 (81 FR 93732). The final rule amended the Commission's regulations to implement provisions of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act that pertain to the designation, protection and sharing of Critical Electric Infrastructure Information.

On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed the Freedom of Information Act Improvement Act of 2016. The Act requires agencies to revise their regulations within 180 days to account for the new statutory mandates. After undertaking a review of Commission regulations in accordance with Section 3 of the Act, the Commission is revising its FOIA regulations to incorporate the statutory mandates. Additionally, this rule updates the delegation regulations with respect to determinations made by the General Counsel in response to FOIA administrative appeals.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to amend the Commission's regulations to implement provisions of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act that pertain to the designation, protection and sharing of Critical Electric Infrastructure Information. Separately, the Commission proposes to amend its regulations that pertain to Critical Energy Infrastructure Information.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register of October 29, 2012 (77 FR 65463). In this final rule, the Commission is revising its rules and regulations relating to the filing of privileged material in keeping with the Commission's efforts to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act and the E-Government Act of 2002.

In this Final Rule, the Commission revises its rules and regulations relating to the filing of privileged material in keeping with the Commission's efforts to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act and the E-Government Act of 2002. First, the Commission establishes two categories of privileged material for filing purposes: Privileged material and critical energy infrastructure information. This revision will expand the ability to file electronically by permitting electronic filing of materials subject to Administrative Law Judge protective orders as appropriate. Second, the Commission revises its regulations to provide a single set of uniform procedures for filing privileged materials. These revisions continue the Commission's effort to reassess and streamline its regulations to ensure that they are efficient, effective and up to date. Also, the Commission revises Rule 213(d) of its Rules of Practice and Procedure, which establishes the timeline for filing answers to motions, to clarify that the standard fifteen day reply time will not apply to motions requesting an extension of time or a shortened time period for action. Instead, the Commission proposes to set the time for responding to such motions at five days, unless another time period is established by notice based on the circumstances.